Wounded Pride
by Renol
Summary: With the defeat of Kid Buu, Vegeta reflects on his actions that lead up to it. Meanwhile Bulma seeks answers of her own. B/V One-shot.


**Author's Note: I recently watched the Buu saga again and was inspired to write what might have been Vegeta's thoughts following the defeat of Kid Buu. I also threw in a quote from an old movie, the villain reminded me somewhat of Vegeta's personality back when he first appeared on Earth. Try to guess who the villain is, and the movie the quote came from.**

**All DBZ characters portrayed are owned by Toei.**

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Vegeta leaned against the wall on the far side of the Capsule Corp.'s domed building, in an area he knew no one traversed regularly. It's been hours since he and the rest of the Z-Team broke up from their celebration on the victory over Buu and left Kami's lookout. Once home, Bulma went to check on her parents, and Trunks went to his room for a nap. Vegeta wanted time for himself to think, so he found a quiet spot and brooded in solitude, arms crossed and looking at the ground with a frown.

'My fucking pride nearly ruined everything,' a pause. 'Again,' he thought and frowned deeper remembering the events preceding and during the Cell Games.

'No, your pride cost the planet and your family, it nearly cost the universe.' His conscious corrected. A conscious he liked to pretend didn't exist before his second death. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the building; listening to the afternoon noises of the busy city, which hours ago were gone in the span of an eye blink. Then he remembered the ki ball Buu had made the second time, one that he couldn't stop from destroying the Earth. Reliving the defeat he felt when he realized his son died there. Then the rage he felt and yelled at Kakarrot, for abandoning their children to their death and saved that buffoon Satan and Dende.

'But Dende gave you the idea for using the Namek Dragon Balls, and the buffoon proved useful in convincing the rest of the humans to give their ki for the Spirit Bomb,' his conscious reminded him.

Shaking his head, he opened his eyes to take in the sky of the late afternoon. He felt tired, not physically, but mentally. However, he didn't want to head inside and sleep, knowing his sub-conscious will be playing hell with him, using whatever nightmares it can use from the last few days. So he stayed rooted, his thoughts drifting around.

His thoughts settled on Bulma and Trunks, recalling their reaction when they arrived back on the lookout. They were overjoyed when they saw he was alive, though he wondered if the boy knew of the lives he took at the tournament, and if he should ever tell him. Bulma seemed happy, though he knew her sharp mind had questions concerning the incident at the tournament and his suicide move to try and get rid of Buu. The memory of that caused Vegeta to slam his right fist into the wall causing cracks to appear in the buildings foundation.

'If that pink bastard didn't have regenerative powers, my sacrifice would have meant something,' he seethed. Instead he could only watch from Hell the destruction that pink blob caused. Freeza mocked him, until Vegeta began to choke the afterlife out of him. It took almost all the ogres to stop him.

The namekian was correct on his assessment on of his afterlife. After giving Trunks his then final words, he'd asked him if he would be sent to where Kakarrot went. Piccolo had told him that Kakarot's selfless acts to save the planet numerous times gave him the privilege of keeping his body and train with the Kaio's, but Vegeta's life was filled with tyranny and his selfish quest for power. His fate would be damnation, again. At the time, he scoffed at the idea, specifically Kakarrot's achievements.

Though he finally saw Piccolo's point later on, when he and Kakarrot were fused. As Vegetto, they shared their memories; he saw the life Kakarrot had on Earth. All of his struggle's and battles, his determination to fight for the joy of it, and to spare his enemies so he could fight them again. That was the reason Kakarrot had wanted him spared after their first battle, as he gave him the best challenge.

With that knowledge, and when witnessing Kakarrot fighting Buu with all of his might, he came to realize that Kakarrot will always be a step ahead of him. Vegeta came to accept that he'll always be second best.

'Though if you realized this years ago, you could have avoided all the mess with Babidi and spared the universe,' his conscious again tormenting him. Vegeta scowled again and closed his eyes, wondering if his pride he latched onto for all these years was worth it. He should have felt relieved that he was given a second chance, but all he could think was that he didn't deserve it.

Too focused and tired, he failed to notice when someone was in his presence.

"Vegeta," a soft feminine voice called to him. He opened his eyes and saw Bulma was in front of him.

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Bulma had watched Vegeta deep in thought for a few minutes. After checking on her parents and Trunks, she went looking for the Saiyan. She figured he would be in the gravity chamber working out whatever frustrations he had, but was surprised when it was empty; she tried the bedroom to see if he was sleeping, and then the kitchen. When those were also empty, she was going to one of the labs to dig out an old scouter, that's when she saw him leaning against the main building.

She never seen him when he was deep in thought, as he always preferred to fly off somewhere to seek some alone time. Something was telling her that there was something wrong with him, since he appeared on the lookout he was quite distant. That at first seemed normal as he didn't like to show any displays of affection in public.

However, when they were alone in the jet transport heading home, he was still quiet, and didn't say much of the battle. This was abnormal as he was usually boastful about his battles to impress Trunks. Instead he was clammed up and had a faraway look. Most of the details she got were from Krillin and Goku.

It was with talking with Goku, that she gained some perspective on some of what Vegeta was thinking, and went through it when she was piloting the aircraft. She had gotten Goku away from his jubilient family for a few minutes so he could fill her in on what she missed while dead.

"_You mean he actually swallowed his pride long enough to fuse with you?" asked Bulma as she was watching Vegeta stand at the edge of the lookout, overlooking the Earth._

"_Right after I told him you died," said Goku solemnly._

"_But I thought his pride was more important than us."_

"_Look Bulma, when we were fused together, we shared our memories and thoughts," he paused. "The only reason he let Babidi unleash his evil side was that he hoped he could finally beat me. When he realized what he'd done, he went to fight Buu alone. The only reason he killed himself was because he believed that was the only way he could protect you and Trunks."_

"_But…" Bulma began before Goku cut her off._

"_Listen, whatever you may think, deep down he does love you and your son. He'd rather pull his teeth out than admit it, but it's true," he smiled. "If he didn't, he wouldn't have blown himself up, fused with me, came up with the plan to destroy Buu, or willing to die again to make sure Buu was killed."_

"_What?" Asked Bulma shocked._

"_Whoops." Goku scratched the back of his neck realizing he should have left that detail out._

Bulma frowned at that, even though Goku explained the circumstances that caused it, she wasn't satisfied. Even after Porunga granted his life back, he was willing to die again, that troubled her.

She noticed he was still wearing his tattered dark blue jumpsuit, and thought she could use that as an excuse to talk to him, so she began to get closer to him.

'He still hasn't notice me,' she thought as she stood before him. 'Something is definitely wrong.'

Bulma stood there for a few moments observing him, she noticed that his eyes were closed, his breathing was controlled, and he had his usual frowning face. She finally decided to break the silence.

"Vegeta," she called softly. He opened his eyes startled; surprised he failed to notice her. Vegeta shook his head frowning that he let himself get so distracted. He looked at her but said nothing. Bulma decided to just be direct and forget her excuse.

"What happened today Vegeta?" She looked him straight in the eyes, mimicking him by having her arms crossed as well.

"I fucked up," he paused and looked away. "Again."

She raised an eyebrow, "Again?"

"Perfect Cell," he answered acidly before looking at her again. Bulma finally began to understand what had been bugging him since the battle. Though that still didn't answer her fully, she still had another question.

"I talked with Goku, before we left; he told me how you came up with the plan to destroy Buu."

"Kakarrot's strength alone couldn't do it, so we had to try another tactic," Vegeta stated matter of fact.

"He also told me that before he could launch it, Buu had you pinned down. And he told me you still demanded he launch it, even if you died again." Bulma stated matter of fact, frowning.

"Couldn't be helped, the universe was at stake."

"Since when did you do the whole noble sacrifice shtick?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Vegeta didn't answer.

"Why did you do it Vegeta?" She needed to know.

"I once saw one of your Earth movies, and the villain said to the hero that, 'It's better to burn out, than to fade away.' When I fought Buu both times, I knew the only answer was to sacrifice myself."

"Did you know how hard we took your death? I cried, even after all those people you killed, I still wanted you alive and with me!" Tears were rolling down her face as she began to poke him in the chest. "I felt it, when you killed yourself. I felt it right in my heart, but I refused to believe you were dead. I still couldn't believe it even when Goku told me. Then when you were brought back to life, I find out you were still willing to throw your life away again in a heartbeat. How do you think that makes me feel?"

Vegeta looked away from her scowling, at himself. He hated when she cried, it made him feel helpless. Taking a deep breath, he looked at her and told her the only thing he felt he could say.

"I'm sorry, Bulma." He said looking down. "I knew you and Trunks wouldn't be safe unless Buu was gone, and if that meant I had to trade my life for it, then so be it."

She looked at him surprised. 'He apologized, something really must be wrong with him.'

Bulma began drying her tears, with her right hand, while the left was holding onto Vegeta's right shoulder. She felt the warmth of his body and began to calm down. "Look, just promise me you don't do anything crazy like that anymore. You're here now and we're safe."

"I won't," he felt relieved once she started to calm down.

"One more thing Vegeta," Bulma's tone serious. "Please tell me you've let go trying to beat Goku. Your pride has gotten you killed, just drop it."

"Don't worry about that," the self-loathing Vegeta had been keeping in for the last few hours finally spilled into his voice. "I've come to realize he'll always be the better fighter."

He looked away again, "And the better man."

Bulma was surprised again, partly because he finally admitted someone was better than him; but that he hated himself. She realized she'd need to cure this now, before it could become something worse. Smiling lightly she moved her hand up to his face, running her thumb across his cheek. "It's good that you can be humble; Goku might be stronger than you, but you're the smarter fighter."

Vegeta didn't respond but he didn't look away either, so she continued.

"Besides, have you ever talked to Goku about anything other than fighting or food? Anything that's technological just flies over his head, while you can actually stimulate my mind."

"Yeah, all that power but still thinks like a kid," Vegeta smirked remembering their banter when they were inside Buu. Bulma took this moment to get closer to him and was nearly nose to nose with him.

"Besides, you're much more handsome than Goku." She pressed her lips to his and was pleasantly surprised when he returned the kiss and wrapped an arm around her back to press her closer.

Vegeta for his part lost himself in the moment, forgetting the past few days, and savoring the warm lips of his mate. He was glad he was brought back to life; he didn't know how he would have handled eternal damnation without her.

Bulma wanted to continue making out like teenagers, but a wicked thought crossed her mind, so she pulled back.

"Ugh, Vegeta, you stink!" She waved her hand to blow away the imaginary odor.

"I do not!" He crossed his arms and scowled.

Bulma gave him a playful smile and winked at him. She grabbed one of his hands and pulled him back to the building's entrance. "Come on, let's get out of these clothes, take a nice hot shower, and get you into something comfortable. My mom is making a big dinner for all of us and I want you nice and clean."

Vegeta caught onto her game and smirked as he let himself be dragged along.

The End


End file.
